Bad weather starts the new year

“Winter weather and severe weather are possible to kick off the New Year this weekend,” the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said in its forecast discussion.

As a cold front pushes its way to spring heat all week over the southern states, it will help fuel strong to severe thunderstorms in the region.

“There is a moderate risk of excessive precipitation and an increased risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Ohio, Tennessee and lower Mississippi valleys from Saturday to Sunday morning,” the WPC said. also said.

The weekend is also set to start with measurable snowfall and a freezing winter mix that is expected to result in dangerous and widespread travel conditions on New Years Day from the Central Plains to the Great Lakes.

Another round of severe thunderstorms

On the warm side of the front, abundant humidity will help withstand storms capable of all severe weather hazards, including large hail, destructive winds, flooding, frequent lightning and tornadoes.

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has warned that even strong tornadoes will be possible saturday and saturday evening.

The areas most at risk on Saturday will be the Ark-La-Tex region across West Virginia.

The SPC says there will be an increased risk of severe thunderstorms from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Birmingham, Alabama, and all the way to Lexington, Ky., From Saturday to Sunday morning.

“The dangers associated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, strong gusts of thunderstorms, hail and a few tornadoes,” he added. WPC said. “However, there is a 10% or greater probability of EF2-EF5 over parts of Tennessee and the lower Mississippi Valley in parts of the southeast.”

Flooding will also be a major concern, particularly in Kentucky, where clean-up is still underway after tornadoes swept through the western part of the state nearly three weeks ago.

Family of five and grandmother confirmed dead in Kentucky tornado

Flood watches are in effect from eastern Oklahoma to West Virginia.

Widespread rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches are expected from western Arkansas to western Pennsylvania. Kentucky could see the highest amounts, up to 4 inches throughout the weekend.

Since the ground is already saturated in Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee, flooding and flash floods are very possible, forecasters said.

New year, new weather (colder)

After an incredibly hot December for much of the United States, the New Year may bring the first extended taste of winter for some states.

This could be the first major snowfall event of the season for the Midwest, with widespread snowfall amounts of 4 inches possible from eastern Kansas to Lake Michigan.

Thicker bands of snow could result in even higher amounts of 6 to 8 inches or more along the Iowa / Missouri border and northern Illinois, causing widespread travel disruption.

“On Saturday morning, mountain ranges such as the Cascades, Sawtooth, Wasatch and the Central and Southern Rockies can expect 1 to 2 feet of snow with totals exceeding 3 feet in the higher elevations of Utah and the Colorado, ”explained the WPC.

There is no snow without cold, and there will be a significant drop in temperatures this weekend.

Wind chill alerts are in effect in more than half a dozen northern plains states as sub-zero temperatures are expected, with possible wind chills up to 45 degrees below zero.

“Dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes,” the National Meteorological Service (NWS) said, referring to the regions of Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska and the Dakotas.

As the arctic air continues further south and east, it will cause temperatures to drop in some cities that have yet to feel the cold of winter.

On Saturday, Memphis will rise from a high of around 70 degrees with thunderstorms to a high in the mid-1930s on Sunday, with a few flurries eventually mixed.

How will it be cold in your city?

The Dallas-Fort Worth area, which has set numerous high temperature records in the past two weeks, will also experience high temperatures on Saturday in the 70s, but on Sunday high temperatures will drop into the upper 30s.

“The strong advection of cold air behind this front will lead by far to the coldest temperatures of the season,” the NWS office in Dallas / Ft. It is worth saying.

Did you say cold? Why not play hockey? The Winter Classic outdoor game traditionally played on New Years Day will be in Minneapolis this year, and it will be chilly.

Saturday’s high temperature is only expected to hit -2 degrees, but will be even colder when the game begins at 6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) with a downright frozen temperature of -5 and a wind chill hovering around -20 degrees.

He could become the coldest outdoor hockey in the NHL game in history if these temperatures improve.

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